A Dream It May Be, But the Dream Goes On

This spiritual autobiography goes right back to Nick's first stirrings and strivings on the spiritual path, beginning earlier than most and describing the everyday contexts in which some extraordinary experiences and unfolding occurred. As the title implies, some elevated states of oneness make ordinary life seem like a dream. A key figure in Nick's development was the Australian teacher Barry Long, with whom he did many seminars and developed a close connection. In life, and especially in relationships, we are meant to grow in love while remaining as conscious as possible in every circumstance. There is a parallel sense of Oneness also referred to by Nick Nicholls above but for Nick this is a return journey to our original sense of Being.

He checks his progress with Barry from time to time, with laconic responses such as the following: 'enlightenment is a constant state of Consciousness in which the knowledge is implicit. There is no knowing in it for it is nothing to speak of; it can't be known. So you are not enlightened, or put more really you have not realised that state. Nevertheless, your description of being shows a profound realisation or realisations.' Along the way comes a moment when the Master is internalised, and for Nick this coincided with Barry's death. Even when one is relatively far along the path, one is still faced with testing circumstances but these are experienced differently from an expanded sense of self in parallel with deep self-enquiry and an overall sense of harmony – interestingly, this is associated with the sense of no longer doing anything, which is almost Taoist in spirit. Readers will find elements of their own journey mirrored in this autobiography of great integrity.